This is one of my favourite books of all time. Though I read it in my twenties, it has always stayed with me.
I was delighted when my husband Paul bought a copy recently and read it. I was equally delighted that he enjoyed it as much as I did!
A small sampling of reviews:
“Besides telling a good story, the author has peopled it with a small group of characters so powerfully drawn as to linger long in memory.” – Philadelphia Inquirer
“To me the most impressive aspect of ‘The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter’ is the astonishing humanity that enables a white writer, for the first time in Southern fiction, to handle Negro characters with as much ease and justice as those of her own race.” – Richard Wright New Republic
“The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter has remarkable power, sweep and certainty . . . Her art suggests a Van Gogh painting peopled with Faulkner figures.” – The New York Times Book Review
Carson McCullers (1917-1967) was the author of numerous other works of fiction and nonfiction, including The Member of the Wedding, Reflections in a Golden Eye, and Clock Without Hands. Born in Columbus, Georgia, on February 19, 1917, she became a promising pianist and enrolled in the Juilliard School of Music in New York when she was seventeen, but lacking money for tuition, she never attended classes. Instead she studied writing at Columbia University, which ultimately led to The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter, the novel that made her an overnight literary sensation at the age of twenty-three. On September 29, 1967, at age fifty, she died in Nyack, New York, where she is buried.
What novel have you read that stayed with you for many years?
Jennifer's Journal 
I enjoyed this quit novel as a teen. Books that have stayed with me over the past 10 years: Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout. How to Save A Life by Sara Zarr. Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson.
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Ooh, thanks for the suggestions! I haven’t read those yet. 🙂
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Hi Jennifer – I have never read this and I didn’t even know what it was about, even though I’ve seen the title many times over the years. Sounds like a really great story. Thanks for the recommendation!
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You’re welcome! There is sadness, and loneliness is a major theme, but the characters jump off the page. That’s how I remember it and why it has stayed with me. Actually, I’m due for a reread, it’s been so long.
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Such a fantastic book…thanks, Jennifer!
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It is, Jill. You’re more than welcome. I hope you fared okay down there through the hurricane!
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It’s finally moved out…yay! Thanks, Jennifer!
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Oh Jill, that’s good to hear. So sorry to read of the lives that were lost.
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Wow. Thank you for reminding me of McCullers’ work; time I revisited it. “Lonely Hunter” is heartbreaking as I recall, but so worth it.
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Agreed. McCullers creates such colourful and realistic characters, they can break your heart, that is true. And yet, that’s what makes this novel so great. Thanks, Jan!
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I love those books that are foundational to our love of reading. Really nice one, Jennifer.
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Indeed, Jacqui. A memorable book is such a gift. Thanks for stopping by and enjoy your Sunday!
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